Mohan Peiris | |
|---|---|
| මොහාන් පීරිස් | |
 | |
| De factoChief Justice of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 15 January 2013 – 28 January 2015 | |
| Appointed by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Preceded by | Shirani Bandaranayake |
| Succeeded by | Shirani Bandaranayake |
| 41st Attorney General of Sri Lanka | |
| In office 2008–2011 | |
| Appointed by | Mahinda Rajapaksa |
| Preceded by | C. R. De Silva |
| Succeeded by | Shanthi Eva Wanasundera |
| Personal details | |
| Spouse | Priyanthi Peiris |
| Children | Talia Peiris |
| Alma mater | St. Joseph's College, Colombo Royal College Colombo Sri Lanka Law College |
| Profession | Attorney-at-law |
Peter Mohan Maithree Peiris,PC (Sinhala:පීටර් මොහාන් මෙෙත්රී පීරිස්) is a Sri Lankan lawyer and diplomat. He served as theAttorney General of Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2011 and was thede factoChief Justice of Sri Lanka from 2013 to 2015 whenPresidentMaithripala Sirisena declared his appointmentvoid ab initio in 2015.[1][2] He has been serving as thePermanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations since January 2021 and was electedVice President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in June 2023.
Peiris was educated atSt. Joseph's College, Colombo andRoyal College, Colombo.[3][4] He played cricket for both schools.[3]
Following his schooling, Peiris entered theSri Lanka Law College for his legal studies and wascalled to the bar on 19 June 1975 as anAttorney-at-law and became a Solicitor of theCourts of England and Wales in 1978.[3][5] He started his legal practice working under senior lawyersDaya Perera and D. R. P. Gunatilleke after qualifying.
Peiris joined theAttorney General's Department in 1981 as astate counsel, later becoming a senior state counsel.[3] During this time he was trained at the National Institute of Trial Advocacy of theHarvard Law School, at the Centre for Police and Criminal Justice Studies of theJesus College, Cambridge and atGeorge Washington University. He left the Attorney General's Department in 1996.[3]
After leaving the Attorney General's Department, he joined theunofficial bar engaging in private practice. He practiced in the original and appellate courts and specialized in areas of administrative law, commercial law, land law, fundamental rights and industrial law.[5]
Peiris was appointedAttorney General on 18 December 2008 from the unofficial bar.[6] He withdrew murder charges in a case against former deputy ministerChandana Kathriarachchi and served an indictment on unlawful assembly for which the accused pleaded guilty.[7] Furthermore, he withdrew a rape case against Government Party ParliamentarianDuminda Silva.[8]
Peiris was appointed senior legal officer to theCabinet in September 2011.[9] He became Chairman ofSeylan Bank in April 2012.[10]
He represented Sri Lanka in The UN Committee Against Torture in 2011 in which he said that the Sri Lankan Government has received intelligence information that missinglankaeNews cartoonist Prageeth Ekneligoda is living in a foreign country. However, he concurred that he lied when he was summoned by a local court.[11]
Peiris was nominated to beChief Justice byPresidentMahinda Rajapaksa following the controversialimpeachment ofShirani Bandaranayake.[12][13] The Parliamentary Council gave its approval for Peiris's appointment on 15 January 2013.[14][15] Peiris was sworn in as chief justice on 15 January 2013.[16][17] Peiris was officially inaugurated as chief justice at a ceremony in the Supreme Court on 23 January 2013.[18] The media, other than the state-owned media, were banned from the ceremony which was boycotted by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL), the largest lawyers association in the country.[19][20] The ceremony was however attended by other judges including the associate judges of the Supreme Court.[21]
Peiris' appointment drew some criticism. Peiris is considered to be an ally of President Rajapaksa and his appointment was seen by critics as further consolidation of power by the president andhis family.[22][23]United Nations High Commissioner for Human RightsNavi Pillay expressed doubts about Peiris' independence and impartiality, particularly when dealing with allegations of serious human rights violations by the Sri Lankan government.[24][25] TheInternational Commission of Jurists condemned Peiris' appointment, describing it as a "further assault on the independence of the judiciary".[26][27]
Maithripala Sirisena, the president elected on 8 January 2015, refused to take oaths before him on the basis his appointment was illegal and took oaths before Justice Hon.K. Sripavan, the most senior judge of the Supreme Court.
According to Sirisena, Mohan Peiris visited him several times begging not to remove him and promising to deliver judgements according to his wishes.[28]
On 28 January 2015, the Government of Sri Lanka acknowledged that the appointment of Mohan Peiris as the chief justice was void at its inception as Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake was not impeached lawfully and therefore, no vacancy existed for the post of chief justice. That paved the way for Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake to resume duties as the chief justice of Sri Lanka.[1]
Peiris was appointed thePermanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in January 2021 by PresidentGotabaya Rajapaksa.[5] In 2022, he was elected chair of theFirst Committee (Disarmament and International Security) replacing Magzhan Ilyassov.[29] He was electedVice President of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in June 2023.[30]
Peiris's wife Priyanthi is also an attorney-at-law. Their teenage daughter Talia died in July 2002.[31] Peiris is aRoman Catholic and is a worshipper atAll Saints' Church, Borella.[32]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Chief Justice of Sri Lanka 2013-2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Sri Lanka 2008–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Permanent Representative to the United Nations 2021–Present | Succeeded by |
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